Members of the Security Council were briefed this morning by the Chairs of various subsidiary bodies, who reported on the Committees’ activities on such matters as counter‑terrorism efforts and the sanctions regimes in a range of countries from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Yemen.

There is no day that goes past without the impact of an improvised explosive device (IED) making headlines around the world. Of all explosive weapons used, the IED is the most widespread, the most harmful and the most pernicious. Based on the belief that to overcome a problem, we must first understand it, this monitor is a small step in seeking to address the terrible realities of today.
It is a monitor that is, also, a response to a call to action.

The ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) is a weekly bulletin for epidemiologists and health professionals on active public health threats. This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 8-14 October 2017 and includes updates on Legionnaires' disease, influenza, rubella, measles, West Nile fever, chikungunya, cholera and plague.

On Monday 16 October 2017 the Council adopted the EU Annual Report on Human Rights And Democracy in the World in 2016.

2016 was a challenging year for human rights and democracy, with a shrinking space for civil society and complex humanitarian and political crises emerging. In this context, the European Union showed leadership and remained strongly committed to promote and protect human rights and democracy across the world.

Geneva – Some 19,088 migrants have returned home voluntarily with assistance from IOM, the UN Migration Agency, from 1 April to 30 June 2017, according to the IOM AVRR quarterly bulletin published today (18/08).
These migrants have returned from 81 host and transit countries to 136 countries and territories of origin.

Today the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect celebrates the World Day for International Justice. Holding perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes accountable for their actions plays an essential role in delivering justice for victims of mass atrocity crimes and preventing their recurrence. Every state, and the international community as a whole, has a role to play in this historic battle against impunity.

Germany - A new data briefing produced by IOM’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC) highlights a 27 percent increase in migrant deaths worldwide during 2016 compared to 2015. The number of migrant deaths and disappearances recorded by IOM increased significantly in many regions of the world, including the Mediterranean, the Middle East, North Africa, and Latin America.

In a new report, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, details the impact of the increased border restrictions introduced in 2016 on refugee and migrant movements towards and inside Europe. It shows that people continued to move but undertook more diversified and dangerous journeys, often relying on smugglers because of the lack of accessible legal ways to Europe.

In a wide-ranging opening speech to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein sheds a light on "preventable calamities" and worrying trends in human rights around the world, including detailed concerns about the situation in more than 50 countries

Distinguished President of the Council,
Director-General,
Excellencies
Colleagues and friends